The Chomsky On Language Acquisition English Language Essay

The Chomsky On Language Acquisition English Language Essay By learning how to learn Bruner believes that one can  transfer what was learnt from one  situation  to another. Life-long learning is closely associated with this concept. Interactionist Theory and ESL How does the Interactionist Theory fit in with  ESL in a classroom? When faced with learning English as a second language, the student is essentially an infant. They cannot communicate with the teacher except through non-verbal communication. Therefore, it is up to the teacher to act as the adult in the infant-adult relationship. He or she is responsible for leading all interaction at first, and as the student becomes more familiar with the English language and able to communicate, the control of the interaction can be relinquished a bit and the students can take more control of their own language learning. Also, if students are encouraged to experiment with the language and learn that it is okay to make mistakes, they will be able to discover for themselves how to combine words and phrases to form full sentences and dialogues. Chomsky on Language Acquisition Noam Chomsky postulated that the mechanism of the language acquisition is derived from the innate processes. Innate is something which is already there in mind since birth. The theory proposed by Chomsky is proved by the children living in same linguistic community. Moreover, they are not influenced by the external experiences which bring about the comparable grammar. He thus proposed his theory on language acquisition in 1977 as all children share the same internal constraints which characterize narrowly the grammar they are going to construct. He also proposed that all of us live in a biological world, and according to him, mental world is no exception. He also believes that as there are stages of development for other parts of the body,  language development  can also be achieved up to a certain age. LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN CHILDREN I.INTRODUCTION Language acquisition is one of the central topics in cognitive science. Every theory of cognition has tried to explain it; probably no other topic has aroused such controversy. Possessing a language is the quintessentially human trait: all normal humans speak, no nonhuman animal does. Language is the main vehicle by which we know about other peoples thoughts, and the two must be intimately related. Every time we speak we are revealing something about language, so the facts of language structure are easy to come by; these data hint at a system of extraordinary complexity. Nonetheless, learning a first language is something every child does successfully, in a matter of a few years and without the need for formal lessons. With language so close to the core of what it means to be human, it is not surprising that childrens acquisition of language has received so much attention. Anyone with strong views about the human mind would like to show that childrens first few steps are steps in the right direction. II. LANGUAGE ACQUISITION THEORIES Language acquisition is the process by which the language capability develops in a human. First language acquisition concerns the development of language in children, while second language acquisition focuses on language development in adults as well. In this paper, we are focussed on the first language acquisition which concerns in the development of language in children. Nativist theories hold that children are born with an innate propensity for language acquisition, and that this ability makes the task of learning a first language easier than it would otherwise be. These hidden assumptions allow children to quickly figure out what is and isnt possible in the grammar of their native language, and allow them to master that grammar by the age of three. Nativists view language as a fundamental part of the human genome, as the trait that makes humans human, and its acquisition as a natural part of maturation, no different from dolphins learning to swim or songbirds learning to sing. Chomsky originally theorized that children were born with a hard-wired language acquisition device (LAD) in their brains. He later expanded this idea into that of Universal Grammar, a set of innate principles and adjustable parameters that are common to all human languages. According to Chomsky, the presence of Universal Grammar in the brains of children allows them to deduce the structure of their native languages from mere exposure. The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) is a postulated organ of the brain that is supposed to function as a congenital device for learning symbolic language (i.e., language acquisition). The LAD concept is a component of the nativist theory of language which dominates contemporary formal linguistics, which asserts that humans are born with the instinct or innate facility for acquiring language. Chomsky motivated the LAD hypothesis by what he perceived as intractable complexity of language acquisition, citing the notion of infinite use of finite means proposed by Wilhelm von Humboldt. At the time it was conceived (1957-1965), the LAD concept was in strict contrast to B.F. Skinners behavioral psychology which emphasized principles of learning theory such as classical and operant conditioning and imitation over biological predisposition. The interactionist theory of Jerome Bruner and Jean Piaget later emphasized the importance of the interaction between biological and social (nature and nurture) aspects of language acquisition. Chomsky (1965) set out an innate language schema which provides the basis for the childs acquisition of a language. The acquisition process takes place despite the limited nature of the primary linguistic data (PLD, the input signals received) and the degenerate nature (frequent incorrect usage, utterances of partial sentences) of that data. Given this poverty of the stimulus, a language acquisition model requires a number of components. Firstly, the child must have a technique for representing input signals and, secondly, a way of representing structural information about them. Thirdly, there must be some initial delimitation of the class of possible language structure hypotheses. Fourthly, the child requires a method for determining what each of these hypotheses implies with respect to each sentence. Finally, an additional method is needed by which the child can select which hypothesis is compatible with the PLD. Equipped with this endowment, first language learning is explained as performed by a Language Acquisition Device progressing through the following stages: 1. The device searches the class of language structure hypotheses and selects those compatible with input signals and structural information drawn from the PLD. 2. The device then tests the compatibility using the knowledge of implications of each hypothesis for the sentences. 3. One hypothesis or grammar is selected as being compatible with the PLD. 4. This grammar provides the device with a method of interpreting sentences (by virtue of its capacity for internally representing structural information and applying the grammar to sentences). Through this process the device constructs a theory of the language of which the PLD are a sample. Chomsky argues that in this way, the child comes to know a great deal more than she has learned, acquiring knowledge of language, which goes far beyond the presented primary linguistic data and is in no sense an inductive generalization from these data. In some views of language acquisition, the LAD is thought to become unavailable after a certain age the critical period hypothesis (i.e., is subject to maturational constraints). Chomsky has gradually abandoned the LAD in favour of a parameter-setting model of language acquisition (principles and parameters). Much of the nativist position is based on the early age at which children show competency in their native grammars, as well as the ways in which they do (and do not) make errors. Infants are born able to distinguish between phonemes in minimal pairs, distinguishing between bah and pah, for example. Young children (under the age of three) do not speak in fully formed sentences, instead saying things like want cookie or my coat. They do not, however, say things like want my or I cookie, statements that would break the syntactic structure of the Phrase, a component of universal grammar. Children also seem remarkably immune from error correction by adults, which Nativists say would not be the case if children were learning from their parents. III. CRITICISM AND ALTERNATIVE THEORIES Non-nativist theories include the competition model, functionalist linguistics, usage-based language acquisition, social interactionism and others. Social-interactionists, like Snow, theorize that adults play an important part in childrens language acquisition. However, some researchers claim that the empirical data on which theories of social interactionism are based have often been over-representative of middle class American and European parent-child interactions. Various anthropological studies of other human cultures, as well as anecdotal evidence from western families, suggests rather that many, if not the majority, of the worlds children are not spoken to in a manner akin to traditional language lessons, but nevertheless grow up to be fully fluent language users. Many researchers now take this into account in their analyses. Those linguists who do not agree with Chomsky point to several problems: 1. Chomsky differentiates between competence and performance. Performance is what people actually say, which is often ungrammatical, whereas competence is what they instinctively know about the syntax of their language and this is more or less equated with the Universal Grammar. Chomsky concentrates upon this aspect of language he thus ignores the things that people actually say. The problem here is that he relies upon peoples intuitions as to what is right or wrong but it is not at all clear that people will all make the same judgments, or that their judgments actually reflect the way people really do use the language. 2. Chomsky distinguishes between the core or central grammar of a language, which is essentially founded on the UG, and peripheral grammar. Thus, in English, the fact that We were is considered correct, and We was incorrect is a historical accident, rather than an integral part of the core grammar as late as the 18th Century, recognized writers, such as Dean Swift, could write We was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ without feeling that they had committed a terrible error. Similarly, the outlawing of the double negation in English is peripheral, due to social and historical circumstances rather than anything specific to the language itself. To Chomsky, the real object of linguistic science is the core grammar. But how do we determine what belongs to the core, and what belongs to the periphery? To some observers, all grammar is conventional, and there is no particular reason to make the Chomskian distinction. 3. Chomsky also appears to reduce language to its grammar. He seems to regard meaning as secondary a sentence such as Colorless may be considered as part of the English language, for it is grammatically correct, and therefore worthy of study by Transformational Grammarians. A sentence such as My mother, he no like bananas, on the other hand, is of no interest to the Chomskian linguist. Nor would he be particularly interested in most of the utterances heard in the course of a normal lecture. 4. Because he disregards meaning, and the social situation in which language is normally produced, he disregards in particular the situation in which the child learns his first language. Bruners LASS Let us look closely at this fourth objection. The psychologist, Jerome Bruner, holds that while there very well may be, as Chomsky suggests, a Language Acquisition Device, or LAD, there must also be a Language Acquisition Support System, or LASS. He is referring to the family and entourage of the child. If we watch closely the way a child interacts with the adults around her, we will see that they constantly provide opportunities for her to acquire her mother tongue. Mother or father provide ritualized scenarios the ceremony of having a bath, eating a meal, getting dressed, or playing a game in which the phases of interaction are rapidly recognized and predicted by the infant. It is within such clear and emotionally charged contexts that the child first becomes aware of the way in which language is used. The utterances of the mother or father are themselves ritualized, and accompany the activity in predictable and comprehensible ways. Gradually, the child moves from a passive position to an active one, taking over the movements of the caretaker, and, eventually, the language as well. Bruner cites the example of a well-known childhood game, in which the mother, or other caretaker, disappears and then reappears. Through this ritual, which at first may be accompanied by simple noises or Bye-bye Hello, and later by lengthier commentaries, the child is both learning about separation and return and being offered a context within which language, charged with emotive content, may be acquired. It is this reciprocal and affective nature of language that Chomsky appears to leave out of his hypotheses. Bruners conception of the way children learn language is taken a little further by John Macnamara, who holds that children, rather than having an in-built language device, have an innate capacity to read meaning into social situations. It is this capacity that makes them capable of understanding language, and therefore learning it with ease, rather than an LAD. IV. CONCLUSION Chomsky, then, sees the child as essentially autonomous in the creation of language. She is programmed to learn, and will learn so long as minimal social and economic conditions are realized. In Bruners version, the program is indeed in place, but the social conditions become more important. The child is still an active participant, is still essentially creative in her approach to language acquisition, but the role of the parents and other caretakers is also seen as primordial. Finally, we could draw the conclusion that we can successfully teach any child any language we like as it is provided with Language Acquisition Device (LAD) and supported with Language Acquisition Support System (LASS).

Deciphering RU-486 Essays -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Deciphering RU-486 When told there is a drug available that may prove useful in the treatment of everything from cancer to HIV to Alzheimer ¹s Disease (1), the tendency would be to ask why its use isn ¹t more pervasive. Conversely, when told there is a drug that functions to terminate unwanted pregnancies as well as preventing them from occurring at all (1), it would be more likely to call into question the ethics of such a design. However, when considering a drug that does all these things, the need to see everything as black and white suddenly becomes less easily met. The drug RU-486, simultaneously vilified by anti-abortion advocates and praised by many research scientists, is just such a drug, and it presents a decidedly modern moral dilemma. Its inhibitory effects on the hormone progesterone are fairly effective in ending a pregnancy in its early stages (1), with this aspect of the drug being successfully marketed in Europe (6) prior to its more recent entrance into this country (13). Its othe r uses have been less widely publicized, largely because to an extent they are just being developed. RU-486 appears to also have an inhibitory effect on the class of stress hormones known as glucocorticoids, which have been recognized as being extremely harmful to the body in a whole host of ways given a high enough concentration. With the high-stress lifestyles we lead today and little evolutionary back-up to deal with that, it is imperative that we come up with a method of treating stress-related illness. It is worth considering at what point the more controversial use of RU-486 should be put aside to allow its beneficial features to achieve their fullest potential. The clinical efficacy of RU-486 comes in its ability to bind to... ... 6) Feminist Majority Foundation Reports on Mifepristone http://www.feminist.org/gateway/ru486one.html 7) Unleashing the Killer Pill: RU-486 Dangers, Lies, and Nazi/Communist Roots Exposed http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a21faea3ba6.htm 8) The RU-486 Files http://www.ru486.org/ 9) Penn Scientists Identify New Pathway in HIV Cycle http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/features/1995/042595/Vpr.html 10) AIDS-related Kaposi ¹s Sarcoma: evidence for direct stimulatory effect of glucocorticoid on cell proliferation http://cancer.med.upenn.edu/cancernet/95/may/705001.html#6 11) Cushing ¹s Syndrome http://medhlp.netusa.net/lib/cushings.htm 12) Treatment of Cushing ¹s Syndrome http://www.uptodate.com/patient_info/topicpages/text/10348A3.asp#19 13) Time Magazine: The Pill Arrives http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,56387,00.html

Discuss The Characters Of Marco And Rodolfo Essay

From the moment they enter the play, the formal and grateful character of Marco contrasts greatly to the more ostentatious and vivacious character of Rodolfo. This is evident to the audience through our initial understanding of them – Marco is respectful, honest and a responsible gentleman, which can be observed through his family ambitions and his gratitude shown towards the Carbone family. Conversely his brother is a raconteur who has more casual ambitions in life. Although he wins the heart of Catherine and the friendship of Beatrice, he clearly does not abide to Eddie’s ‘male code of honour’, and Eddie’s incestuous dreams with Catherine results in deep jealousy of the relationship that she has with Rodolfo. The audience interpret Marco’s formal, respectful character from the initial scene where Marco enters the household. He shows his gratitude towards the Carbone family in numerous ways, which is obvious through the repetition of ‘Thank you’. His sharp, but polite tone illustrates his formality and ‘machismo’ character, similar to that of Eddie’s. Additionally it is clear that he is a responsible and honest gentleman; his ambitions and priorities are obtainable and family orientated. He says:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœThe older one is sick in his chest.’ My wife – she feeds them from her own mouth. I tell you the truth, if I stay there they will never grow up. They eat the sunshine’. Not only does this show that he is honest and that he works hard for his family, it additionally depicts the harsh reality of his situation back in Italy, and as a result this creates sympathy from Eddie, Beatrice and the audience. Furthermore this sympathy and fondness of Marco expands when the salary that he can obtain for this family dumfounds him. He says:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœMy wife – My wife – I want to send right away maybe twenty dollars – Eduardo†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚  Without showing too much emotion, whilst following Eddie’s ‘male code of honour’, he expresses his gratitude towards Eddie, which is evident where the playwright informs us ‘his eyes are showing tears’. Marco is clearly ecstatic by this opportunity to make his family happy and this earns him his respect, particularly from Eddie, who has strong feelings about maintaining a satisfied family. Contradicting to the sharp and polite character of Marco, Rodolfo is more flamboyant and a raconteur. Whereas Marco is more sharp and ‘machismo’, Rodolfo is more vivacious and talkative, which is evident where he says:  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Oh, sure! It’s a feature in our town. The horses in our town are skinnier than the goats. So if there are too many passengers we help to push the carriages up to the hotel. In our town the horses are only for show’  He not only answers the questions proposed by Beatrice, but he expands on it in depth, informing the audience that he is chatty and speaks in a more casual tone. Furthermore the repetition of ‘he laughs’ by Miller sums up Rodolfo’s personality – happy and confident. Additionally he is not ashamed to express his true feelings, which seems obvious to us when he responds to Eddie’s description of economic opportunities in America. He says: ‘How much? We hear of all kinds of figures. How much can we make? We work hard, we’ll work all day, all night – ‘  Marco shows that he is desperate to make money, and he is almost dumfounded by the mention of money itself. He is evidently not afraid to express his emotions; he almost shamelessly begs to work. This does not depict Eddie’s ‘male code of honour’ and therefore Eddie does not show respect towards him, shown by the playwright when ‘he is coming more and more to address Marco only’. Eddie chooses not to respond to Rodolfo’s comments because Rodolfo is ostentatious, which by Eddie’s standards does not make him ‘machismo’. As a result, Eddie responds only to Marco, who he genuinely respects as a result of his formality and gratitude.

Social Norms in Fitzgerald´s The Great Gatsby - 649 Words

In The Great Gatsby, chapters five and six, provide crucial insights about the title character, Gatsby, and about the social norms of American society during the roaring twenties. Fitzgerald finally reveals Gatsby’s past and his tenacious, single minded nature when chasing his dreams, whether that entails becoming an entirely different person or pursuing Daisy. Chapter six demonstrates the longstanding and hostile division between â€Å"old money† and â€Å"new money,† which is induced mainly by the haughty attitude the aristocrats hold towards the newly rich. Jay Gatsby is but a fake persona fabricated by James Gatz, a farm boy born of â€Å"shiftless and unsuccessful† parents. Even from the start, James was unable to accept his poor lot in life, firm in his belief that he had a higher calling, a destiny. His denial of his parents, and their poverty, was so absolute, and his drive to succeed so powerful, he managed to will Jay Gatsby into existence. The destitute boy from North Dakota built a fortune that surpassed even that of the elites. His success in becoming Gatsby and amassing great wealth, despite his humble beginnings, demonstrates his ingenuity and conviction as well as reveal a vital flaw in his personality: fixation. This aspect to his character becomes more evident in his quest for Daisy. Although nearly five years have passed since his separation with Daisy and she is already married now, he still continues to pursue her with the same zeal and passion as he did when theyShow MoreRelatedLiterary Analysis Of The Great Gatsby 1673 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of The Great Gatsby Dreams are a compelling force in people’s lives. They are what propel them forward each and every day in an effort to reach something better. The American Dream has been sought after by millions all over the world for hundreds of years. This country was founded on the belief that anyone could achieve their dreams. However, in the 1920s these hopes and aspirations began to splinter until they ultimately shattered. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolismRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1681 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1920’s, a pre-depression age of jazz and modernism, were a retreat from traditional ideas and values. On the east coast of New York, the setting of Fitzgerald’s â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, Fitzgerald shows an economic disparity in Long Island. The different â€Å"eggs†or rich neighbourhoods on Long Island, sit on either side of a â€Å"Valley of Ashes†. That being the poor neighbourhood between the â€Å"Old Money† and â€Å"New Money†. Besides the warring social classes, Fitzgerald touches on another important, typicallyRead MoreHonor In The Great Gatsby Analysis935 Words   |  4 Pagespoint of view, and lifestyle that the person had. The Great Gatsby is a love story between a poor boy who works to get rich and a girl who was born into money attempting to reunite after five years. Code of Honor is about a boy named Kamran who tries to prove his brother innocent of him being accused of taking part in horrible crimes of Al Qaeda. Based on the conditions of the lives of the characters in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Code of Honor by Alan Gratz, honor is having a highRead MoreIdentifying And Surveying F. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby1675 Words   |  7 PagesWhilst analysing and surveying F. Scott Fitzgerald s fulfilling and creative way of writing, I present to you today the body of work in the context of the writers time, discussing an d paying attention to the social, historical, cultural and political discourses within the text. F.Scott Fitzgerald constructs a variety of truths throughout the novel, the two truths that where clearly noticeable where â€Å"The American dream† and â€Å"Old and New Money† which greatly supported the normalities of the era, theseRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1448 Words   |  6 PagesThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald chronicles the life of Jay Gatsby, a self-made man, narrated by a social outsider named Nick Carraway. The story takes place in New York during the Roaring Twenties. In this decade, American’s lives were characterized by a fascination with new technology, great wealth, and an increased emphasis on social activities and leisure. In addition, many Americans engaged in binge drinking despite Prohibition laws which made the consumption of alcohol illegal. In orderRead MoreThe American Dream in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitz gerald1082 Words   |  5 PagesThe 1920’s was a time of great change to both the country lived in as well as the goals and ambitions that were sought after by the average person. During this time, priorities shifted from family and religion to success and spontaneous living. The American dream, itself, changed into a self centered and ongoing personal goal that was the leading priority in most people’s lives. This new age of carelessness and naivety encompasses much of what this earlier period is remembered for. In additionRead MoreEssay on Gatsby and Hamilton.1294 Words   |  6 Pagesnovel, The Great Gatsby seeks to highlight the disillusionment of the â€Å"American dream.† Fitzgerald voice’s his disenchantment with the whirlwind pace of the post war jazz age. A decade later many art movements attached to unrest with modern American ideals. Pop arts forefather, Richard Hamilton, capitalized on this idea through his artwork as seen in Hamiltonâ⠂¬â„¢s most enduring piece, Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? (1956). Both Hamilton and Fitzgerald mock the modernRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1745 Words   |  7 PagesThe great Gatsby was written in 1925 by Scott Fitzgerald. Throughout the story a prominent theme presented is social class. Three types of social class that were portrayed were the lower - middle class, the lower - upper class, and the upper - upper class. These social classes were not only depicted through characters and social norms but also locations. Such as the East egg, West Egg, and the Valley of the Ashes. East Egg is the upper - upper class, West Egg represents the lower - upper class, andRead MoreThe Great Gatsby1279 Words   |  6 Pagesdeep desire for Fitzgerald’s wealth, fame, money and material luxury. Both Gatsby and Fitzgerald idolize wealth and luxury and at last fell in love with a beautiful woman when they stopped at a military c amp in the South. After, author fell in love with Zelda; he tried to convince her by attending reckless Saturday parties and wanted to win Zelda’s love by writing to earn money. In the novel, same thing happened with Gatsby, he devoted himself to acquire both name and fame and did his best to winRead MoreThe Grand Illusion in The Great Gatsby Essay811 Words   |  4 Pagescan truly capture, but only smoke trapped in the palm of a hand. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s lavish parties, characterized by music, dancing, and illegal alcohol, are a representation of the corruption of society’s values, and are filled with guests only concerned with material things as they step further and further away from the moral values that once dictated the lives of those before them. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s parties to illustrate the â€Å"roaring† twenties as a time of